GOP Senators seeking “majority makers”
GOP senators are seeking “majority makers” like former Bush Pioneer John Nau at their retreat at the Four Seasons for the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (NRSC) in Jackson Hole August 14 – 16. “Majority Makers” may sound like a hopeful term these days for the GOP now that the Senate is 60-40 in Democratic hands; in fact, it is the NRSC’s donor club for those individuals who contribute the maximum possible of $30,400.
The weekend will feature several opportuities to hob knob with GOP Senatorial big wigs such as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). It being Wyoming, there’s also golfing, fly fishing, horseback riding, and river rafting.
Also featured is a reception and dinner at the home of John and Barbara Nau in Teton Village. Nau is CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, Houston’s number one Anheuser-Busch distributor. He was a “pioneer” for former President George W. Bush in both the 2000 and 2004 elections. In November 2001, President Bush awarded Nau with an appointment as Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
Nau also bundled campaign contributions for both Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain in the recent presidential race, and he’s serving as finance chairman for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s (R-TX) bid for the Texas gubernatorial seat.
Overall, he and his wife Barbara personally have contributed more than $823,000 to federal candidates and PACs since 1989, according to Open Secrets. (See google spreadsheet here. Interestingly, the Naus in the past contributed $27,904 to Democrats, much of it during the years of the Clinton Administration. ) This includes a combined $60,800 to the NRSC this calendar year, establishing them as “majority makers.”
Nau was a 2008 member of the “chairman’s circle” for the National Beer Wholesalers Association, meaning he’d contributed the maximum possible to the organization’s PAC. The group lobbies on a wide range of issues, from tax policy to fuel prices to product safety.
If you want a room at the Four Seasons at the group block rate, you need to act quickly–the deadline is tomorrow.
Intern Josh Heath contributed to this post.
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